In this work we consider the numerical simulation of heat transfer by natural convection in a horizontal
IntroductionThe problem of natural convection heat transfer over cylindrical or spherical enclosures is very frequent in several technological applications, such as vaporization and condensation of fuel droplets, nuclear reactor design, spray drying, solar energy collectors, and lamp technologies [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].Several researchers have studied numerically and experimentally the natural convection heat transfer in spherical lamps, only limited literature is available for natural convection in cylindrical lamps [7,12,13]. Fisher and Fitzgerald [12] solved the conservation equations in two dimensions and predicted the flow patterns and tungsten transport in horizontal cylindrical lamps. The calculated temperature profiles showed good agreement with those obtained from a double exposure holographic technique. It was also demonstrated that lower gas filling pressures reduced the magnitude of convective effects.Correa [13] calculated the movement of a fluid and heat transport in a tungsten halogen lamp using a curvilinear grid. This model was applied to vertically and horizontally oriented lamps and including an inert gas at high pressure. Makai et al. [14] studied a halogen lamp with a tungsten filament. The simulation of the free convection inside the lamp was carried by the energy equation and the Navier-Stokes equations. Based on the substantial partial differential equations of the free convection problem, this computer model was developed to evaluate the operating conditions in tungsten halogen lamps. The free convection was simulated by the convection-conduction equation and the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation. They determined velocity field, the temperature distribution and the pressure in the lamp. The pressure dependence on dimensionless characteristic numbers was evaluated. Different least square estimation methods for determination of distribution temperature and their applicability with regard to uncertainties of the spectral irradiance data of incandescent lamps were discussed by Rosenkranz et al. [15]. Recently Singh [11] studied numerically the natural convection heat transfer from a finned sphere in laminar and turbulent flow regimes using CFD (Fluent 6.3).The aim of the present study is to simulate heat transfer by natural convection in a horizontal cylindrical cell filled with